You can make a break, you can win or lose

[rolanni]

Remodeling Report

The painters have finished their part of the puzzle, and have departed, cash in hand.

The deck arrived in safe mode last night — decking, stairs (with bannisters!), and a rudimentary rail.  Today, the guys are working on putting in the balusters, setting up the supports for the roof, and fixing the. . .untidiness that came from ripping the old deck out of the vinyl siding.  There was a brief, bright rumor suggesting that the roof would also be done this weekend, but…alas.

Tomorrow morning, Steve and I will go see the floor guy.  Might be we can get the new floors in next week or the week after.  Still looking at Thanksgiving for the Makeover to be complete.

This part of the makeover to be complete.

Rolanni Does Exercise

As reported elsewhere, I survived my first visit to the gym.  In about an hour, I walked two miles, and did what are probably pretty minor exercise sets on various bits of equipment with names like Ab Builder, Chest Press, Lateral Pull Down, Leg Press, and my hands-down favorite, the V-Crunch.

While I’m pretty sure that I’m going to regret all this virtue tomorrow, I hope to have forgotten the aftermath by Monday, so that I can go in for Session Two.

State of the Cats

Mozart is in his hammock in the living room, Ignoring the deck crew.  Scrabble is in the rocker in my room, ditto.

Potential Tragedies

It would appear that, in all the excitement, I have misplaced the Calendar that Rules.  This is potentially very tragic, indeed, but I can’t seem to work up a screaming fit of panic about it.  Somebody take care of that for me, ‘k?

Discovered Awesomenesses

A postcard addressed to Steve Miller of the Owings Mills Millers, date-stamped Portland ORE 3 Apr 1988:  Dear Steve & Sharon — Bravo! Bravi! I look forward to Reading You!!  Cheers from Ursula — which had fallen behind a bookshelf, and was rescued by the Magic of Remodeling.

Deliveries Delivered

Steve’s canvas shirt from Cabela’s and my awesome Clearance Sale denim-lined-with-fleece shirt (honest to Ghu, $20?  I shoulda bought two.) have arrived and have been found Satisfactory.

DVDs:  The Last Starfighter (25th Anniversary Edition!) , Short Circuit (because, yanno, Number Five is alive!)

Deliveries Outstanding

“Off the Grid,” Abney Park’s newest CD.

Tasks in Process

The laundry has grown teeth and a tail.  Steve waded in and began with the slaying this morning.    He also made us a tasty spaghetti dinner.  Mmmmm, spaghetti.

Lee and Miller Upcoming Appearances

We’ll be giving a talk at Bowdoin College on Thursday, November 17, and! (because we’re insane) we agreed to participate in a Maine Writers Group Booksigning at Longfellow Bookstore in the Old Port on November 25, aka Black Friday.

Writers Doing Crazy Things

What’re y’all looking at me for?

With 9 days to go! C.E. Murphy’s Kickstarter Campaign to fund the writing of the Walker Papers novella “No Dominion,” has $11,799 in pledges.  Not too bad for an original $4,000 goal, eh?  But wait!  She’s just $201 shy of a bonus level that would put a limited, signed trade paper edition of “No Dominion” plus the bonus companion stories triggered by previous bonus levels.  Go over and take a look, why not?

As many of you know, the third book in Laura Anne Gilman’s Vineart War series came out just last month.  (If you haven’t read these, you really should — Flesh and Fire, Weight of Stone, The Shattered Vine.)  However, Laura Anne found, as authors often do, that there are more stories in the universe than there was room for, in the novels.  And there’s one very compelling, very important, story that she’d really like to tell you.  “From Whence You Came” is the name of the proposed novella.  If you want to know more, you want to go here.

Musicians Doing Ditto

Frenchy and the Punk’s BIG Music Project, to produce two CDs of their work, surpassed the $4,590 goal.  But!  They only asked for half the cost of producing the CDs.  The whole cost would be $9,180, and they’re a slim $450 from funding the whole project.  Their campaign goes over on Monday, November 7, so you need to act quick if you want to be a patron of this fine duo.

Writing in Process

Dragon Ship, sequel to Ghost Ship
Necessity’s Child, sequel to nothing, a Tree-and-Surebleak story
“The Space at Tinsori Light,” short story destined for Splinter Universe

Writing Waiting in the Wings

Trade Secret, sequel to Balance of Trade
An as-yet-untitled-short-story for the Baen website in July

What was on that 3.5 inch disk, anyway?

The Mystery Disk described earlier this week proves to contain what is probably a Very Early Draft of Carpe Diem.  There are chapters that never got used, and some chapters which didn’t get used in Carpe Diem, but did, in Plan B.

. . .I think that’s caught everybody up.

What’s happening in your neck of the woods?

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[silverdragonma.livejournal.com]

I am headed to the Derry Witches Ball tonight. Ritual will be a good time to say good bye to the emotional baggage the death of my father left me.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

The laundry has grown teeth and a tail. Steve waded in and began with the slaying this morning. He also made us a tasty spaghetti dinner. Mmmmm, spaghetti.

On first read (mmm, spaghetti, indeed), I was trying to figure out how slaying the laundry monster would yield a spaghetti dinner. Sock guts?

awesome organization

[barbinbandon.livejournal.com]

It sounds like things are coming together nicely out of all the chaos of the past few days. Huzzah!

That Steve ... is priceless. You two are so fortunate.

I'm working on getting out to do errands. Looking forward to getting some cold weather food in the house. Stew, I think.

Best regards.

[attilathepbnun.livejournal.com]

Left my winter jacket at the nice sewing lady's for a new zipper. Made a car-appointment for what's probably going to be a brake job(strange squeaky noises from front wheel, yuck). Walked the dog. Made vegetarian hamburger helper ...
Congrats on the progress of the renovations and laundry-slaying! Hope the spagetti includes meatballs ..

[lagilman]

Thanks for the shout! I'm hoping this gets funded - it will be a fun project, and novella-length is one of my favorites.

[(Anonymous)]

Waiting for the beer guy and the beer tasting tonight.
No author or music events this weekend, pooh, but the holiday
shoppers seem to be out already.

One of my cohorts on Main Street is expanding and her Grand Opening
is tomorrow so I hope to visit early before I open the bookstore. Such
good fortune must be celebrated in these days of small businesses going
under. Go, Kristin!

Man, you guys are weathering the house-stuff really well. No screaming
mimis, no what-I-dones. Color me impressed.
Lauretta@ConstellationBooks

[keristor.livejournal.com]

Anyone who uses 'whence' correctly and avoids the dangling preposition deserves support as far as I'm concerned!

[catlinye-maker.livejournal.com]

In our neck of the woods (currently Ruston, LA) the leaves are turning, the weather is gorgeous, and I'm frantically revamping our plans and cancelling the stay in Texarkana and making new reservations because we have to be in Houston on Monday. Most of October has been like this and I hope it settles down soon. !grr!

Just FYI, CE Murphy has made her 12K Kickstarter milestone. The next stage gets all subscribers who contribute over $25 a second novella. I bumped my donation to do my mite and make that cutoff just in case; anything can happen in nine days!

[lagilman]

*laughs*

This was one of those rare cases of the proper title coming to mind the moment I thought "I should very much like to write this story...."

My prepositions do occasionally dangle, I fear. I (mostly)love my copyeditors.

Remodel Goes Along

[claire774.livejournal.com]

I see you still have somewhere to cook if not a kitchen. that's nice. I didn't know that they make hammocks for cats. clever.

I am now the proud owner of Barnburner and Gunshy.
that's the good news. Butn now I'm going to have to go through the books on my shelves that have accumulated willy nilly over the years and weed out some to give to the Libary. It has shelves in the back where books are sold that the libary is releasing to raise funds. I'd imagine that most of my cast offs will end up there.

Thanks for the tip on author Laura Anne Gilman. I'll go look her up on ye olde Amazon.

Good luck with everything. Which is a lot!!
C.

[kalilama.livejournal.com]

A worthy summary of progress...or a summary of worthy progress. Sounds like the renovations are going well and the cats are adapting.

After two consecutive great dinners with USM's visiting poets and assorted friends, I am knackered. I guess it IS possible to have too much good conversation.

Just sent in four of my poems for workshopping at my first-ever MFA residency in January. I'm pretty convinced that they are the wrong poems. Now the laundry, then a visit to the bookstore (more conversation), then lunch (more conversation), and a movie (finally, no talking!).

[pedanther]

I had a birthday, and spent a large chunk of it reading Ghost Ship on the ebook reader that was my birthday present to myself.

This morning was the first day in over a week with weather suitable for hanging out laundry, so there's going to be some laundry-slaying in my future as well.

[otaku-tetsuko.livejournal.com]

Ah, I also succumbed to the 25th anniversary (Really? Yegads!)version of The Last Starfighter - Yay Centari! Go to sleep, Lewis!

And short Circuit is also a fav.

Good picking!